Abraxas was the embodiment of destruction.
The destruction he represented was the destruction of the Multiverse itself.
It was one of the most fundamental and terrifying forces in this world.
He had been born for the sole purpose of destroying everything.
Even a casual attack from him possessed power beyond anything an ordinary person could imagine.
Karl's powerful attack pierced straight through Abraxas's body.
However, Abraxas also sensed Karl's strength.
He stared at Karl, a strange light flickering in his eyes.
"Who are you?"
Abraxas's hoarse voice rang out.
"The Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj."
Karl replied calmly.
"Sorcerer Supreme?"
Abraxas sneered disdainfully.
"In my era, I'd never even heard of some so-called Sorcerer Supreme."
"Some worthless nobody comes out of nowhere and dares bark in front of me?"
Abraxas's expression darkened as tremendous Psychic Power spread outward.
He attempted to use his terrifying Psychic Power to directly suppress Karl.
Karl remained completely unmoved.
"You're afraid."
"If you weren't afraid, you wouldn't bother trying to provoke me psychologically."
"You think a few words are enough to make me lose my temper?"
"Looks like all those years away really did leave you behind."
Karl spoke calmly.
His voice remained completely steady.
After so many years of tempering his mind, words like these could no longer cause any emotional fluctuations in him.
If Abraxas wanted to shake his composure, then he had seriously underestimated him.
"Hmph."
"Left behind?"
"I represent an ancient power."
"Sorcerers of this age truly are ignorant."
"Do you even know what I represent?"
"I represent the laws of this world. And laws are power. Laws are everything."
Abraxas's eyes were filled with madness and self-obsession.
On Earth, he might simply have been dismissed as a lunatic.
Somewhere else, perhaps people would have worshiped him.
But here...
He was a god.
And an extraordinarily powerful one at that.
"So-called Sorcerer Supreme."
"At least I'll let you understand what killed you."
"I represent the laws of this world!"
"No matter how much this world changes, my power will remain eternal."
Abraxas was utterly insane.
Karl's strength didn't frighten him.
Instead, it gave him a strange sense of excitement.
When ordinary people encountered someone stronger than themselves, they might think about retreating or avoiding the fight.
Abraxas only thought about how to destroy them!
He unleashed his terrifying power.
The destructive aura surrounding him began to distort.
For a moment, Karl felt as though Abraxas's power had undergone an enormous transformation.
That destruction no longer seemed like simple destruction.
Instead, it seemed to encompass everything in existence.
Universes.
Stars.
Mountains.
Land.
Everything appeared to be contained within it.
Despite being a force meant to destroy the world, it somehow seemed to possess dominion over the world itself.
Karl became extremely cautious.
At that moment, he finally understood just how powerful beings on the level of the Five Great Gods truly were.
If the power of ordinary powerhouses came from themselves—from their personal understanding of the laws governing reality—and their strength ultimately depended on their own willpower...
Then the Five Great Gods were different.
Their powers were innate manifestations of reality itself.
Their strength originated from fundamental laws, or perhaps from the way intelligent life throughout the world understood those laws.
They were concepts given form.
They were children of the laws themselves.
Abraxas was much the same.
The Power of Destruction he controlled represented the destruction of this entire world.
It represented the end of the Multiverse.
It was a manifestation of the laws governing reality itself.
Naturally, whenever the laws of this world changed, beings like him would be among the first to sense it.
Karl finally understood what Abraxas had meant earlier.
Abraxas could throw the entire Multiverse into chaos not because he was insane, but because he truly possessed the strength to do so.
Karl became even more cautious toward him.
With a thought, the space around Karl immediately distorted.
The powers of Time and Space flowed around him, creating a chaotic domain around his body.
"Heh."
"I thought you were some important figure. Maybe even some great superhero."
"Turns out you're just afraid to die."
Abraxas let out a disdainful sneer.
Karl didn't care in the slightest.
It was true that, compared with his superhero friends in the Marvel Universe, Karl could sometimes seem somewhat out of place.
But people were afraid of death.
That was perfectly natural.
Some people could disregard death for ideals they considered greater than themselves.
What they sought was something beyond physical survival, enough to make them disregard bodily pain and even death.
Karl couldn't do that.
He understood himself very clearly and wouldn't be easily shaken by a few words.
When Abraxas saw that Karl's expression hadn't changed in the slightest, his own face turned cold.
"Don't think that turtle shell can protect you."
"Before my great power, everything you do is meaningless."
Abraxas's eyes were filled with madness, yet his voice was ice-cold.
Karl remained noncommittal.
Even his tone didn't change.
"Is that so?"
"Then try it."
With that, Karl moved his will.
Powerful forces intertwined before him.
The various Origins he understood intertwined and engraved themselves together, forming a shield composed of countless symbols.
For the current Karl, magic was no longer simply magic.
It was merely a method through which he expressed his own power.
Even someone possessing tremendous raw power still needed a refined technique to properly bring that strength to bear.
For Karl, magic served as that technique.
The Origins he had comprehended were the tremendous power behind it.
When the two were combined, the resulting force was beyond anything ordinary beings could imagine.
At the very least, the shield before him could truly be called nearly indestructible.
Abraxas could also tell that this spell was extraordinary.
Naturally, he had no intention of letting Karl defend himself so easily.
The Power of Destruction began violently surging.
Under Abraxas's control, that destructive force condensed into three lightning-like bolts.
Crack!
Crack!
Terrifying sounds continuously echoed through the surroundings.
They were the sounds of everything nearby being shattered by the horrific Power of Destruction.
Even the laws themselves were breaking apart.
Reality split open into enormous fissures.
The chaotic void of the Multiverse seemed to open countless enormous maws, creating a horrifying sight.
The crackling black lightning looked almost identical to the lightning flickering in Abraxas's eyes.
But Karl knew better.
That was Power of Destruction compressed to an extreme degree.
The terrifying destructive force struck the golden shield before him.
After only a few impacts, the shield that had been radiating dazzling golden light actually began to darken.
Karl knew exactly what that meant.
The Origins he had comprehended were being destroyed.
Replaced.
Corrupted.
And Abraxas possessed an almost endless supply of this power.
He could unleash attacks like these thousands of times without stopping.
(End of Chapter)
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